How does CPAP work? Doesn't make sense

MRRPM wrote:

Wulfman... wrote: You REALLY need to study physiology and anatomy more. CO2 (carbon dioxide) is the driving force for breathing.


Den

Really? How so?

Try Googling the part I have in bold. Are you that stupid......or are you really a troll?
Time to fish or cut bait and demonstrate whether that gray matter holding your ears apart really works.
You try to give the impression that you have some intelligence, but I'm having my doubts.


Den

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MRRPM,

It may seem like people are piling on but they wouldn't be getting on you if they didn't care about you and your health. If you would just stop for a minute to reflect, this really is a very caring community even though at times, we have our spats which I think is normal.

I don't think you realize how lucky you are.

49er

Hi MRRPM
A lot of people have tried to explain how this stuff works, and they explain things a lot better than I ever could.

It seems that because it cannot be explained to you how it works to your satisfaction, it’s bogus and snake oil. How about instead of looking at how it works, look at the effects. Once you know that it works the problem is not that it doesn’t work, it’s your understanding that is faulty. You can always then purchase the appropriate college text books, and take a course or two where it will be fully explained

Put your mask on and turn it on. Put your hand where the exhaust is on the mask. Feel the air that’s coming through the holes? Now breathe in and out a few times. Try differing amount, try breathing fast and slow. Does the air EVER stop coming through those holes? If it does not, then doesn’t that prove that when you exhale that’s going to be part of what’s coming through the holes, and the air inside the mask is getting refreshed from the hose from the machine? Yes you’re probably rebreathing a very small portion of your last breath. So what?

If you’re still not convinced get a recording pulse oximeter and record your oxygen saturations overnight. If you’re rebreathing to the extent that it affects you, your oxygen levels will show very quickly. You can prove that the rebreathing occurs, and it is bad for you.

I tried the recording pulse oximeter with and without CPAP to get an idea of how effective the CPAP therapy was. I wore it one night with CPAP and one night without CPAP. As a note, that is the last night I’ve ever willingly forgone my CPAP therapy. The night without CPAP, I spent 15 minutes and 18 seconds where my oxygen levels were below 90%, and had 161 events. The night with CPAP therapy I had a total of 30 seconds of time below 90%, and 71 events. When I didn't use CPAP, 76 of the 161 events recorded showed my blood oxygen levels were below 90%. When I did use CPAP therapy, 6 of the 71 events occured when my blood oxygen levels went below 90% An event is defined as a drop in blood oxygen of 3% for over 10 seconds.

I freely admit I do not understand all the intricacies of my therapy. I do see though that it is working, and working well. Just because I don’t understand everything, doesn’t make my therapy ineffective. I stick around, read other people’s explanations and hopefully learn as I go. It’s a continuing journey

Hope this helps you and have a great day!

-Bill

The OP's choices are:

1) Use CPAP and if a heavily regulated and monitored engineering team screwed up the design, live with rebreathing a very small amount of CO2.

or

2) Don't use CPAP and suffer transient hypercapnia with every obstructive event, all night, every night. This is in addition to the normal rebeathing of tracheal and nasal passageway gasses. The increased pH from the periodic high CO2 levels associated with Apnea is probably at least as harmful as the periodic decreased O2. In fact my Sister in Law (Endocrinologist) says it's worse, because altering your bloods pH cascades through your entire blood chemistry and the cascades outlive the transient CO2 spikes.